Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu revives Narayana Murthy's 70-hour workweek debate: 'If you look at Japan, South Korea, China...'

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu has reignited the debate about a 70-hour workweek, a topic first raised by Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy. In a recent post on X, Vembu explained, “The rationale behind the 70 hour work week is 'it is necessary for economic development'."

He pointed to East Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, which have grown economically through hard work, often requiring long hours from their people. However, he also noted the downside: these nations now face low birth rates, prompting governments to encourage citizens to have more children.

The rationale behind the 70 hour work week is "it is necessary for economic development". If you look at East Asia - Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China have all developed through extreme hard work, often imposing punitive levels of work on their own people.

These very…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) December 27, 2024

Vembu raised two important questions: Is such intense work necessary for economic development? And is the price—lonely old age—worth it? He argued that while a small percentage of the population (around 2-5%) can push themselves hard for economic growth, it is not necessary for everyone. 

Vembu believes that a balanced work-life approach should be the norm for the majority, leading to both personal well-being and broad economic development.

Responding to the second question, Vembu expressed that the price of intense work for economic success is not worth it. He pointed to China's demographic decline and emphasised that India should not follow a similar path. He believes India can grow without sacrificing its population's future.

This debate comes after Narayana Murthy's comments, where he argued that India's workforce needs to increase productivity to compete with countries like Japan and China. He suggested that young Indians should be willing to work 70 hours a week to improve the nation’s competitiveness.